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The report highlights that China's steel sector requires at least CNY1.6tn (USD220bn) in fixed-asset investment for decarbonisation by 2050. While the labelled bond and loan markets have the capacity to provide this capital, current issuance from the steel sector is minimal, representing only 0.1% of the Chinese labelled bond market. The document recommends aligning provincial transition finance guidelines with national and international standards, encouraging the use of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-reduction targets in sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs), and implementing green public procurement to stimulate demand for low-carbon steel.

The report highlights that steel and cement are the largest industrial emitters, accounting for over 7% and 6% of global CO2 emissions in 2022. It argues that credible corporate transition plans are essential for unlocking private capital, particularly through sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs). An analysis of 20 companies reveals that while 90% have published transition plans, there is a significant lack of consistency in financing disclosure and a critical gap in concrete 'just transition' objectives. The document emphasizes that emerging markets will lead demand growth and hold the majority of coal-based blast furnace capacity requiring reinvestment by 2030, making international coordination and supportive public procurement policies vital for a credible transition.

The document provides a legislative side-by-side analysis of the BioPreferred® Program, a USDA-managed initiative designed to increase the use of bio-based products to support economic development and replace fossil fuel-based materials. It details current mandatory and voluntary requirements for federal agencies and outlines proposed changes from the House version of the Farm Bill, particularly regarding reporting, accountability, and funding extensions through 2029.

The document argues that current EU public procurement policy, particularly the voluntary approach of the 'Classic Directive', is ineffective at achieving sustainability goals. It recommends a dual approach: introducing binding targets, procedural requirements, and monitoring in horizontal legislation, while implementing sector-specific mandatory minimum requirements in sectoral legislation. The briefing highlights that public procurement represents 14% of EU GDP and 15% of its global greenhouse gas emissions, making it a critical lever for the green transition.

The report highlights that the EU is a net importer of CO2 emissions, with consumption-based emissions (CBEs) significantly exceeding territorial emissions. While the EU has focused on territorial targets, the authors argue that addressing CBEs is essential for global climate goals. Through case studies of Sweden, Denmark, and France, the report identifies a lack of standardized monitoring and binding targets as primary barriers. It recommends that the EU establish binding CBE targets, standardize carbon accounting, and expand policies like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the EcoDesign Regulation to drive sustainable consumption and production globally.

The document assesses the current state of bioeconomy strategies across G20 nations, identifying three primary thematic axes: biotechnology (R&D&I), bioresources (sustainable use of biodiversity), and bio-ecology (sustainable development). It highlights the significant economic potential of the sector, citing estimates that its value could reach US$30 trillion by 2050. The report emphasizes the necessity of integrating indigenous and local knowledge, ensuring social equity, and aligning bioeconomy growth with biodiversity conservation and climate action. It further examines policy enablers such as Green Public Procurement and carbon pricing, and discusses financing mechanisms including nature markets and sustainability-linked bonds. The report concludes by proposing five key themes for the G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy's program of work: integration into growth plans, livelihoods and equity, enabling finance, facilitating biotrade, and measurement methodologies.

The report examines the potential for direct electrification to decarbonize China's industrial process heating, which accounts for nearly three-quarters of the manufacturing sector's CO2 emissions. It focuses on industrial heat pumps for low-temperature needs (up to 165 °C) and thermal batteries for high-temperature needs (up to 1,700 °C). A techno-economic analysis reveals that while coal-fired boilers currently have the lowest levelized cost, industrial heat pumps become the cheapest option for low-temperature heat when 2030 carbon pricing is included. The report identifies significant barriers, including the high cost of electricity relative to coal and limited equipment availability, and recommends policies such as equipment rebates, carbon pricing expansion, and the optimization of Green Electricity Certificates to accelerate the transition.

The report identifies a critical need to accelerate building renovations in Europe, noting that approximately 97% of the region's building stock requires upgrades to meet 2050 net-zero targets. It argues that while the EU's 'Fit for 55' package and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) provide a foundation, additional policy interventions are needed to unlock private capital and overcome financial and non-financial barriers. The document details 20 specific policy levers, including the implementation of Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS), the phasing out of fossil-fuel subsidies by 2040, and the adoption of 'Building Renovation Passports'. It emphasizes the role of green bonds and mortgages, suggesting a voluntary EU-wide definition for green mortgages to improve data collection and risk management. The report also advocates for the electrification of heating via heat pumps over hydrogen blending and highlights the importance of addressing 'Whole Life Carbon' (WLC) in construction.

The report evaluates the Paris 2024 climate strategy, noting that while efforts in construction and food supply are robust, other sectors like transport and energy lack transparency and detailed methodology. It criticizes the evolution of public claims from 'carbon neutrality' to 'climate positive' as misleading and highlights a lack of transparency in carbon credit purchases. The authors argue that future games must downscale or decentralize to align with the 1.5°C goal and should avoid partnering with companies whose climate pathways are incompatible with the Paris Agreement.

The report analyzes the Paris 2024 climate strategy, noting that while efforts in construction and food procurement are robust, there is significant opacity regarding carbon credit purchases, energy sourcing, and the overall carbon budget. It criticizes the evolution of public communication from 'carbon neutrality' to 'climate positive' as misleading and highlights the incompatibility of many official sponsors with the Paris Agreement. The document argues that incremental improvements are insufficient and proposes a radical redesign of the Olympic model, such as distributing events globally to reduce international air travel and infrastructure needs.

The report emphasizes that while many OECD countries have integrated environmental goals into procurement, monitoring systems to track tangible impacts on greenhouse gas emissions are often neglected. Using examples from South Korea, Japan, Slovenia, Denmark, Malaysia, and the Netherlands, it identifies that successful monitoring requires strong government support and collaboration, though it is hindered by data gaps and tool complexity. The report recommends establishing legal mandates for monitoring, improving data management, and investing in staff capacity to ensure public procurement drives climate goals.

The report examines how governments can monitor green public procurement (GPP) to track progress toward climate goals. It categorizes monitoring into institutionalization, outputs, and outcomes, while detailing specific tools for measuring CO2 impacts. Through case studies of South Korea, Japan, Slovenia, Denmark, Malaysia, and the Netherlands, it identifies key success factors such as strong legal mandates and e-procurement integration. It also highlights significant barriers, including data insufficiency, decentralized procurement structures, and a lack of specialized technical skills. The document concludes with recommendations for governments to define clear targets, mandate monitoring through policy, and strengthen data management systems.

The report analyzes the current state of transatlantic industrial decarbonization policies, identifying a significant divergence between the EU's regulatory-led approach and the US's subsidy-driven model. It argues that while high-level negotiations on carbon pricing (such as GASSA) have stalled, there is substantial opportunity for cooperation through 'softer' market functions, including R&D, green public procurement, and the harmonization of technical standards. The document provides a detailed SWOT analysis of various policy instruments and technology-specific areas, recommending the creation of dedicated dialogue platforms and innovation hubs to foster a globally interoperable clean economy.

The report argues that while US and EU cooperation on carbon pricing and tariffs (such as GASSA and CBAM) has stalled due to diverging political visions, a 'softer' path to alignment is possible. This approach prioritizes cooperation on 'carrots' like R&D and green public procurement, and 'sticks' like the harmonization of carbon standards. The study recommends expanding collaboration beyond hydrogen and carbon capture to include circular economy practices and industrial electrification, utilizing platforms like the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) to avoid duplication and establish common technology standards.

Carbon Market Watch (CMW) reports an estimated 2024 GHG footprint of 39.37 tCO2eq, overshooting its retrospective annual target of 22.61 tCO2eq by 74%. The organization's emissions increased from 34.03 tCO2eq in 2023, primarily due to aviation. Scope 2 emissions, largely from remote work and office energy, are the largest source, while aviation is the second largest. CMW has fully implemented several operational policies regarding ground travel, catering, and sustainable procurement, and maintains an internal carbon levy that raised 3,543 in 2024 to support climate advocacy in the global south.

The document outlines how to make school catering procurement more sustainable in Estonia, aligning with European Commission guidelines and the 'Farm to Fork' strategy. It provides specific technical descriptions and evaluation criteria across several key areas: organic food, low-climate-impact sourcing (short supply chains and seasonal produce), plant-based diets, waste reduction, eco-friendly cleaning supplies, energy and water efficiency, and food education. For each area, it suggests how to set minimum requirements in technical specifications and how to award additional points during the bid evaluation process to incentivize higher environmental standards.

The Greening Transportation Infrastructure Development Integrated Program (GRID IP) is a multi-country initiative designed to mitigate the environmental impacts of roads, rail, waterways, and ports. By intervening in the upstream phases of the infrastructure lifecycle—specifically through policy reform, integrated spatial planning, and the mobilization of green finance—the program seeks to prevent habitat fragmentation, forest loss, and GHG emissions. The program is structured around four components: improving enabling conditions, inclusive planning and design, developing finance and de-risking mechanisms, and global knowledge management. It targets specific sites, including ports in Malaysia and Suriname, and road networks in Nepal, the Philippines, and Ukraine, with an overall GEF program financing request of $23,794,476 and total co-financing of $408,915,662.

The Joint Strategic Resource (JSR) submits that the Public Procurement Bill 2023 remains rooted in an 'administrative paradigm' that prioritizes rigid compliance over procurement outcomes. The JSR argues that the Bill fails to clearly define the 'public procurement system' or the authority for preferential procurement policy, potentially violating section 217 of the Constitution. They advocate for a 'strategic procurement paradigm' that grants accounting officers more flexibility to tailor purchasing strategies to specific project needs and suggests that the Bill should embed clear procurement principles at the statutory level rather than relying on National Treasury instructions.

The Procurement Reform Working Group (PRWG) supports the introduction of the Public Procurement Bill 2023 as a means to simplify South Africa's fragmented procurement legal framework, which currently consists of over 100 pieces of legislation. However, the PRWG argues that the Bill fails to provide clear definitions for 'preferential procurement' and 'public procurement' and grants excessive law-making power to the National Treasury and the Public Procurement Office. The group advocates for the Bill to contain concrete core rules and principles—including open contracting and proactive transparency—rather than relying on subordinate legislation, to ensure the system is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and cost-effective.

The report concludes that while the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) remains the primary driver for industrial decarbonisation, current carbon prices alone are insufficient to trigger the massive investments required for deep decarbonisation in the steel and cement sectors. It argues that demand-side measures—specifically Green Public Procurement (GPP) and sustainable product regulations—can provide the necessary market signals to build technological capacity and avoid carbon lock-in. The study highlights that government-driven initiatives have significantly more potential than voluntary industry pledges, though the latter can serve as a short-term bridge. Key recommendations include harmonising low-carbon product definitions across EU Member States and exploring Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs) to bridge the 'green premium' cost gap.